1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hand tools and, more particularly, to a multipurpose grasping part holder.
2. Description of the Related Art
A basic problem that occurs during installation and removal of small hardware parts (e.g., screws, washers, nuts, bolts, spacers, etc) is the accidental, or unintentional, dropping of the small hardware parts, which may become lost. The problem of dropping small parts appears to occur more frequently when small parts are installed by hand. If small parts are dropped within or in close proximity to elements of flight hardware, the small parts may not be recoverable, thereby increasing the probability of damage to the flight hardware during processing or flight.
Anyone who has ever used a wrench can understand the frustration of trying to loosen and remove a bolt or nut that is in a difficult to reach location, particularly if it is an enclosed and out of sight location. These are locations such as behind on a starter, alternator, stereos, heater core, heater ducts, power supplies, refrigerator units and shocks.
Sometimes even using a long lever arm to turn the wrench is not enough. Very often the bolt or nut is located in a location where attempting to start or loosen it makes the task more difficult, even with other types of gripping tools.
Other conventional techniques for holding objects to an existing fastening member, such as a screw joint, exists. Temporary attachment via adhesive or tape is known, as is to clamp the holder between a screw head or, alternatively, between a nut and a fastening surface. Such a holder can be constructed as an angularly bent sheet-metal bracket which is provided with a hole, through which the screw extends. The screw member may, for example, form part of a vehicle beam construction for the purpose of keeping structural members together. In this regard, the holder must be mounted at the same time as the preparation of the screw joint, wherein there is a risk of the holder changing position to an incorrect position during tightening, due to the friction between the holder and parts in the screw joint. Furthermore, the holder is exposed to the same tightening forces as the screw joint itself, which demands a great deal of the physical properties of the holder material.
In all these cases there is a need to gasp a required part in an adjustable fashion, followed by being able to bend, twist or capable of flexing into a specific shape, thus allowing it to fit into areas where most common hand tools cannot.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems and to provide a holder which is easy to mount and later exchange and which can be adjusted and kept in a fixed position.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related.
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method of gasping a required part in an adjustable fashion and being able to bend, twist or capable of flexing into a specific shape, thus allowing it to fit into areas where most common hand tools cannot.